The view from the top of the Incline
By Mary Burger
Training on the Incline is an interesting local sport. It is the highest set of stairs in the world. The elevation gain is more than the Empire State Building. An organized event on it would be a world class athletic event. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of local outdoor enthusiasts climb it every weekend. But, as most people know, it is off limits to law abiding citizens and posted as no trespassing. The No Trespassing signs have been there for a couple years at least. But, the land was known to be private property when the first few began training on the tracks. Since they were few, and locals they did so at the tolerance of the owners, but without explicit permission. Many people, including a lot of members of FOTP, have wanted to obtain that permission and open the Incline to public use.
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The view from the top of the Incline |
The Colorado Springs Utilities owns the bottom 1/4 of the incline. They are not interested in opening the area as any use jeopardizes the stability of the pipeline which runs under the incline. They would rather have the area closed to all use so they could protect the pipeline. Of historical note; the Incline was originally built to create the pipeline which supplies water to Colorado Springs from the reservoirs on the North slope of the peak. It was later turned into a tourist attraction by the owners of the Cog Railway. They used the rails intended to haul pipeline materials to pull a trolley full of tourists to the top of Mount Manitou. About 15 years ago, the tram was closed due to safety concerns. The rails were subsequently removed. That is when people discovered it was an ideal set up for an outdoor set of exercise steps. At first the number of people crazy enough to attempt the climb was small. But its popularity has grown and grown.
The Cog is the owner of the middle portion of the Incline. They do not wish to open the area for use because of the abuse of parking which has historically occurred on their property when people began using the Incline as the world’s largest outdoor stairstep.
The Forest Service controls the top portion of the incline. They have new regulations since about 1982, which require all new trails to be built to sustainable standards. Sustainable standards require the trail to be constructed at a grade less than 12% and less than 1/3 the cross slope. The incline does not qualify as a new trail in this regard. The very reason people love it is that it runs up the slope of Mount Manitou at 100% of the available grade. For that matter, Barr trail would have to be built at a much lower grade if it were to be constructed today. It was grandfathered in when the regulations passed.
As of the last meeting, the plan seems to be to permanently close the area to all use, restore the vegetation, replant the canopy and eliminate the scar. This appears to be an acceptable solution to the land owners. And certainly their opinion must be taken into account when we decide where we stand on this issue.
Friends of the Peak is a proponent of sound stewardship on Pikes Peak. We hope to persuade all land owners on the Peak to do what is best for the mountain in all their decisions. We are also proponents of public access. It is our stand that Pikes Peak is a public resource, and we the people will benefit most from access to the wild and quiet places on our mountain.
Against this kind of opposition is there any hope of opening the Incline to users? Some say yes. The Forest Service could be asked to view the Incline not as a trail, but as a structure. Or, a special waiver could be requested to allow the feature to be preserved. The Utilities could be pressured into accepting continuous maintenance as part of their responsibility. The users do not put an unreasonable pressure on the structure. The Cog rail yard could be convinced that the current user will not trespass to park, and will always shuttle up the hill, or walk from Soda Springs Park. Or, alternately, more parking could be found somewhere.
But even if all these things occurred, there is still no reason for the land owners to allow use. We could eliminate the reasons to forbid use. But what can we do to cause them to feel it would be in their best interest to open the Incline? I put this question to you, not rhetorically, but in reality. Think about the Incline as if it were a big rock in your own backyard. What would motivate you to open your fence, and allow the whole neighborhood to enter your backyard and play on your rock? Let us know your thoughts. You can contact us at our website. The dialog is still open, but it is closing fast.
For more information on the efforts to get the Incline opened for public use please see http://www.inclineclub.com/incline
